Tales from Camelot
by LadyMarianne123
Summary: Tales of Jenkins, DuLaque and Camelot - told by Arthur to the Librarians
1. Chapter 1

Tales from Camelot

Chapter 1

The Librarians spread out on the House of Refuge's back porch, enjoying a moment of peace in the beautiful garden that seemed to be attached to the magical house. Baird, Cassandra and Flynn had tall glasses of iced tea beside them. Stone and Jones each had a tall, icy bottle of beer with assorted sandwiches on plates between them.

"This is the life" Baird said with a sigh. "Peace, quiet and not a ninja or killer mummy in site."

"The House is really being hospitable" Stone replied, holding the bottle with two fingers.

"We could always wish for more beer" Ezekiel commented, helping himself to another sandwich.

"You've had enough" Baird warned a smile on her face.

"Remember the last time we were here" Cassandra said, dreamily. "We had just finished that case with the demons."

"More like Arthur and Rowan finished that case." Stone set the bottle back on the table and stretched his legs over the top steps.

Baird shrugged, unconcerned. "True. But you have to admit it was fun hearing Arthur tell tales on Jenkins and vice versa. Those two were funny when they got started."

"Arthur told funny stories. I had never thought about Jenkins as a young man." Cassandra nibbled on another sandwich, her eyes closed blissfully.

"I think he hadn't thought of himself that young in a while" Flynn commented, taking Baird's hand and interlocking their fingers.

"Nice of Arthur to arrange for the House to be available to us when we need a rest." Stone looked out across the garden, relaxing a little more.

"I think that was more Rowan than Arthur" Baird admitted.

"Wonder what they are doing right now" Ezekiel said, sitting down at Baird's feet.

"Probably hunting something. I got the feeling they both are big hunters." Baird stared off into the distance, remembering that last encounter.

Weeks before in the House of Refuge

Rowan curled up beside her brother on the couch with Jenkins seated on the other side of Arthur. "So…just how old were you when you went into battle with my brother?"

"Yeah – and how come he calls you little brother?" Ezekiel asked, snatching a samosa from the plate.

"He was younger than I was when I first met him." Arthur stretched his arm around his sister's shoulders, playing affectionately with her hair. "Now that I think about it, you were much younger than I was, weren't you little brother?"

Jenkins harrumphed impatiently. "I wasn't THAT much younger."

"You were 16. I was in my mid twenties." Arthur grinned at his friend's discomfort.

"16? You went to war at 16?" Cassandra gasped, horrified.

"That shouldn't be such a surprise to you Miss Cassandra" Rowan looked at the red-head with sympathy. "Child soldiers are used even now in third world countries."

"Not quite the same thing" Arthur shrugged. "In those days young men were considered adult much sooner than they are now."

"Not that you ever acted like an adult" Jenkins commented, trying to hide his grin.

"Really? What all did he do?" Rowan asked, curiously.

"You realize your brother has no sense of modesty what so ever? He once decided he wanted to clean up and change his clothes so instead of waiting to set up a tent he decided to take off all his clothes and walk into a pond located behind a convent. Can you image the reaction of those nuns when a naked man came walking out of the water towards them?" Jenkins tapped his friend affectionately on the arm. "Lancelot laughed so hard I thought he was going to cry."

"Lancelot? You knew DuLaque when he was young?" Baird looked at Flynn with a frown.

"He wasn't always an ass" Arthur admitted. "Just most of the time. But sometimes he could be the good knight of legend."

"Like when?" Ezekiel asked, unconvinced.

"Like the time this one" Arthur lightly punched Jenkins in the shoulder "nearly drowned trying to save one of the boys that took care of our horses. It was one of the few times I ever saw Lancelot truly concerned about either of us."


	2. Chapter 2

Pt. 2

 **In the Time before Camelot**

"The only way to get to the other side is to use the barges" Lancelot looked at the restless army behind him with concern. "The water is too fast to swim the horses and too deep just to ford it ourselves."

Arthur frowned, re-thinking his battle strategy. "Can we trust the locals?"

Lancelot shrugged. "They have little love for the warlord currently in power but they have no reason to trust us. We'll need to make it worth their time."

"Sire, we must speak" Merlin walked up to the duo, his staff poking the ground ahead of him.

"Save me" Arthur muttered, rolling his eyes in frustration.

Lancelot stifled a smile at his friend's frustration. "Patience, my friend. He only has your welfare at heart."

"That's the problem." Arthur shook his head and turned to the older magician. "What can I do for you, Merlin?"

"Have you decided how you will approach the castle?" Merlin asked, looking coldly at Lancelot. "I will need time to make arrangements for the spell."

"About that" Arthur said, crossing his arms across his chest. "We're not going to use magic to advance on the castle."

"Magic worked well enough for your father" Merlin growled.

Arthur blinked, for moment confused, then smiled thinly. "That might have worked for Uther but it doesn't work for me. So, if you really want to be helpful then I suggest you get what you will need to deal with my wounded soldiers and leave the battles to me.'

Merlin gritted his teeth in aggravation. "Sire, you need to reconsider."

"All I need is to do get my soldiers from this side of the river to the other. And standing here is not going to make that happen so if you will excuse us…" Arthur gently shoved the elderly magician aside and started off towards his men with Lancelot behind him.

"Was that wise?" Lancelot asked, hazarding a quick glance back at the still form behind them. "He is a powerful wizard."

"Not as powerful as he thinks he is" Arthur replied, kicking a stone out of his way.

"What if he decides to take action against you?"

"Then this battle will get interesting."

 **Back at the House of Refuge**

"You had a fight with Merlin?" Cassandra's voice was high and squeaky.

"I was always fighting with Merlin" Arthur responded, tapping his fingers absently on sofa.

"What I don't get is DuLaque being a good guy" Stone looked at Arthur with a frown.

"Lancelot wasn't always evil. He was always an ass but it wasn't until later that he gave in to the darkness. The man I knew was annoyingly arrogant but he was still my friend."

Jenkins stared off into space with a frown. "And yet when he knew, really knew, that you were not the original Arthur he said nothing to the other knights."

"Let's not go there right now little brother" Arthur murmured. "He had his reasons just as I had mine."

"So – what happened at the river?" Baird asked, hoping to change the subject.

Ah yes, the river" Arthur settled back into the couch. "The first thing you should know is that most people of that age didn't know how to swim. Even sailors didn't swim since they believed in not prolonging the agony if they fell overboard. So trying to move an army – even a small army – across that river using barges was nerve wracking to say the least."

 **In the Time before Camelot**

"The horses are almost all over" Galeas reported, sliding to a stop in front of Arthur and Lancelot. "We have one more group to go over."

"That would include us" Lancelot remarked, watching the remaining horses and men being loaded onto the barges.

Arthur shrugged. "If the water wasn't so fast I'd just swim my horse across."

"Not a good idea" Lancelot said. "The last thing we need is for the men to see you swept off your horse and drowned."

"I've crossed rivers on a horse before" Arthur laughed.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Lancelot smiled, then gave Galeas a shove towards the barge. "Let's get this madman on the water boy before he does something we'll all regret."

The final group loaded their horses on the last barge and started across the river, holding on to whatever was available as the current battered the craft. Galeas tried not to give in to the rising nausea. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a young boy, son to a farmer that had given them shelter on the road. He had seen the boy sneaking around the camp, entranced by the knights and their horses. "Wonderful." Galeas thought, trying to stay upright in the moving barge. "If Lancelot sees him he'll throw him in."

At that moment the barge lurched and the boy lost his grip on the horse's mane, flying into the cold river. "Help!"

Without a thought Galeas threw himself from the barge, landing in the water and trying frantically to paddle as he had seen the dogs that followed the camp do when they played in the ponds. "Help! Arthur, help!" he called out, trying not to sink under the waves.

On the barge, Arthur was trying to soothe his nervous mount when the splash and subsequent cries alerted him to a problem. "Lancelot! What's happening?"

Lancelot, clinging desperately to his own mount, looked over at his friend in desperation. "Arthur! Galeas has gone into the river!"

Without another word, Arthur unbuckled his sword belt and threw it to another of his knights. He hurled himself off the side of the barge, swimming powerfully towards the sounds of his young friend fighting the current. "Hang on you young fool" Arthur thought grimly, fighting the current and the cold. "Hang on. I'm coming."


	3. Chapter 3

Pt.3

"Oh no!" Cassandra gasped. "How horrible! Especially for that boy! Were you able to save him?"

"Saving him wasn't my priority." Arthur stretched to reach his beer bottle on the table in front of him. "Getting this idiot out of the water before he drowned was kind of my priority."

"I was doing pretty well" Jenkins protested, waving off the offer of a beer from his friend.

"Sure you were" Arthur said with a smirk.

Jenkins rolled his eyes at his friend's sarcasm. "At least I didn't drown."

"No thanks to that peasant boy you were trying to save." Arthur said.

 **At the river**

Galeas gasped as the current tried to pull him under again. It had swept him along towards the still struggling boy, dragging him under several times before he had caught up with him. The boy, terrified, was still flailing trying to keep himself above the water. "Stop struggling!" Galeas sputtered, trying to grab the boy's shirt. "You're going to kill us both!"

A rough hand grabbed Galeas by the back of his tunic, yanking him back from the boy. "Galeas!" Arthur's voice roared suddenly in his ear. "Hang on to me and I'll get us to shore!"

"Arthur! The boy! He'll drown!" Galeas grabbed his friend's arm as the older man appeared beside him.

"Not if we can help it." Arthur desperately treaded water, trying to hold on to his young friend and keep the peasant boy from getting too far out of reach. The current was still dragging them down the river, making it hard to stay above the water. Ahead, Arthur could see a rock formation in the river, just big enough to park at least one of the two struggling swimmers. "See the rocks up ahead? Stay on your back and let the river move you towards them then grab on. The barge is right behind us – they can pull us up as they move by."

Galeas did as he was told, trying to stay on his back as his friend towed the two swimmers towards the rocks. He grabbed at the slippery stones, managing to hook an arm over a break in the boulder. Arthur pushed the peasant boy up against the rock cluster, trying to wedge him between the rock and himself as he also held onto the boulder. The young boy was limp and cold, barely breathing.

"Is he still alive?" Galeas asked, shaking from the cold.

"I have no idea. Where is that barge?" Arthur groused, the cold making holding on to the others more and more difficult.

"I think I see it" Galeas shouted, his teeth chattering.

"Arthur!" Lancelot's voice soared over the sound of the river. "We're coming!"

"So is Christmas." Arthur grumbled. He shifted position, trying to keep hold on the unconscious boy.

The river men struggled to maneuver the barge close to the rocks, fighting to keep the current from sweeping them away while one of the knights threw a rope at the group. Galeas was able to grab it as it sailed close to him, wrapping the length around his arm while trying to keep hold of the stone.

"Can you hold this boy while they pull you in?" Arthur shouted, shifting the boy's body slightly to keep him pressed against the stones.

"I think so" Galeas replied, switching hands on the rocks. He was able to wrap his arm around the boy's waist, clutching the boy in a death grip.

"Pull them in!" Arthur shouted, waving his now free arm at the barge. The knights proceeded to haul the rope back, pulling Galeas and the boy back towards the moving barge. Lancelot knelt at the edge of the craft, reaching out to haul the two boys aboard as soon as they were close enough. He pulled Galeas out of the water while one of the other knights wrestled the barely breathing youngster out of the young knight's arms.

Arthur sighed, the initial adrenaline rush started to subside. He glanced back at the shore, still a distance away and frowned. There was something on the shore, something that looked … odd. He shook the water out of his eyes and looked again, seeing even more dark figures gathered around a lump on the ground. "What the…crows? Ravens?" He squinted again, a sense of unease settling in his chest.

"Arthur! Hurry! We can't stay here long!" Lancelot's voice was barely understandable over the roar of the water.

Arthur looked back at the barge briefly then back at the shore. Something was there – something he needed to see. With a sigh, he let go of the rock and threw himself backwards into the current again.

"Arthur, what are you DOING? No!" Galeas stared in horror as his friend's lanky form disappeared into the water.


	4. Chapter 4

Pt. 4

"What had you seen?" Baird asked, curiously.

"Ravens. Carrion birds. Something was dead on the shore." Arthur took a drink of his beer and set it down carefully. "I was afraid I knew what or more precisely who it might be."

"You knew?" Stone looked at Arthur in surprise.

"Not really, not until I looked at what the birds had been pecking at." Arthur stared down at his bottle thoughtfully. "I really hated it when Lancelot was right."

"What was DuLaque right about?" Cassandra asked, looking over at the suddenly very sober Jenkins.

"He told me something didn't feel right about what we were going into. But we had no choice. There was no going around that particular little fiefdom if we wanted to unite the kingdom."

"Now I understand" Jenkins murmured.

 **Time before Camelot**

The bargemen pulled the raft into the pier and jumped out of the way of the knights and horses that poured off the craft. "Bors! Get the men assembled! We march on the castle before nightfall!" Lancelot moved purposefully towards the assembled men, his face grim.

"Lancelot!" Galeas ran up to the older knight. "What about Arthur?"

"What about him?" Lancelot snarled, whirling to face the shivering young fighter. "Thanks to your soft heart we traded a useless farm boy for one of the greatest leaders this kingdom has ever seen. Now all we can do is try to salvage what we can from his plan and hope the rumors of wild magic being used by this warlord were only stories told to frighten children."

"We don't know Arthur isn't going to join us." Galeas protested.

"We don't have time to wait." Lancelot turned the young man and shoved him in the direction of the horses. "Get out of those wet clothes before you are sick and useless to me on the field." He stalked off without another word.

Galeas took a deep breath, fighting to keep the shaking under control. His sodden clothes felt heavy and his boots seemed to hold buckets of river water. "What did you think to jump off that barge?" he murmured to himself, shuffling off to find his saddle bag with his head hung down. "This is all your fault. Arthur is gone, Lancelot is furious and we may lose this battle without our king."

"Galeas! Where is Arthur?" Merlin's voice sounded suddenly in his ear.

"He's gone. He went into the river to save me and never came back out." The younger man's voice caught in his throat. "It's all my fault."

"Don't be absurd boy." Merlin said dismissively. "That young Dragon couldn't be brought down by something so simple. Did you see him drown?"

"I saw him fall back into the river then never come back up."

"Is that all? You know he's obsessive about water. The man spends more time in ponds than the fish do. Do you really think that river could ever, really kill him?" The mage scowled at the soaked fighter and walked off muttering under his breath.

Galeas watched the wizard storm off with a frown. He looked back at Lancelot who was swearing at a group of foot soldiers who were not moving fast enough, then back at the direction Merlin had taken. "If he's right, then Arthur is on foot in dangerous lands." He looked back at the horses they had just offloaded from the barge.

Arthur's charger was kicking up a fuss, keeping the pages at a distance. The huge Friesian stallion was difficult with everyone except his rider, seeing the knights and their squires as targets for its bad temper. The others were terrified of the animal, almost as afraid of it as they were devoted to its rider. Galeas was the only knight who could approach the beast without its master.

"Let me take him" Galeas called out, pushing the young squires out of the way. "He's just nervous because of the crossing." He moved quietly towards the charger, speaking in a low, calm voice. "Peace Atlas, peace. Calm yourself. It's me. You know me. You can trust me."

The black horse snorted angrily then pranced over to the disheveled man. He sniffed him curiously, then bumped him happily. Galeas stroked the its forelock gently then led him away from the others. "Your master needs our help, Atlas. He's lost and we need to find him."


	5. Chapter 5

Pt. 5

"So you went to look for Arthur?" Flynn asked, gingerly putting his drink on the table.

"I tried. I didn't get far before Lancelot caught me and dragged me off to get out of my wet clothes. He couldn't hold Atlas though." Jenkins smiled slightly, remembering how angry the knight had been. "Atlas never did like him much."

"Horse was a good judge of character" Stone commented, tipping back the last of his beer.

"Atlas was a good tracker too. Didn't take him long to find me headed back down the river bank." Arthur leaned his head on his hand, remembering his favorite war horse fondly.

"You never did say what you found." Baird said.

"Body of a man" Arthur replied. "It was a local farmer who had been feeding information to us about the movements of the warlord's army. Lancelot and I both suspected the man was playing both sides against the middle but we needed his information so we took what he said with a grain of salt. Someone, however, wasn't so forgiving."

 **Before Camelot**

Arthur grimaced as he walked towards where his army was gathering. "Stupid fool" he thought, breaking into a trot. "He must have tried to get something more for his lies than he had been promised and his master decided he was too expensive to keep."

The sound of a galloping horse interrupted his reverie. Looking up he was surprised to see his charger Atlas coming toward him. "Whoa boy! Atlas, stop!"

The black stallion skidded to a stop and danced happily up to his master. He wasn't sure why his rider hadn't stayed with him on that miserable trip down the river but he was happy to see him now.

Arthur gently rubbed the horse's neck, noticing that his saddle was not on the beast's back. Someone had not tried to get him ready for the battle ahead. "Who let you loose?" he thought, a frown on his face. "Not that it matters, not now." He grabbed the horse's mane and heaved himself up on the animals back, settling himself in for the ride. "Let's go boy. Lancelot is probably driving everyone crazy by now."

The black horse's long-legged gait ate up the distance back to where the army was gathering. Arthur slowed his horse to a trot, relaxing in the warm sunlight. It had been forever since he had just thrown himself on a good horse and just ridden for the joy of it. Now, however, reality was asserting itself as the sounds of battle worked its way into his mind. "Bloody hell" Arthur thought, throwing himself off his horse's back. "What's going on? The warlord's army shouldn't be this close."

Arthur ran through the now abandoned camp, snatching up his longbow and quiver as he moved. "Who the hell has my sword?" he cursed, not bothering to pick up his shield. "Lancelot wouldn't dare try to use it. Excalibur wouldn't allow itself to be pulled from its sheath by anyone but me." He skidded to a stop at the edge of the field, frowning at the scene in front of him.

Galeas danced out of the range of one of the warlord's fighters, slashing the man's midsection as he move. He had managed to fight his way about mid-field, following Lancelot's lead. The other knights and men at arms were scattered across the grounds, each holding his own against an overwhelming force. He could feel the exhaustion and fear coming from Arthur's forces, already off-balance due to the loss of their young leader. "Arthur, where are you?" he thought unhappily, punching a lightly armored soldier out of his way.

Suddenly an arrow shot past the young knight's ear, taking down the soldier beside him. Galias whirled around to see a familiar, tall and imposing form behind him. "Arthur!"

Lancelot glanced back to see his leader and friend stalking towards the battlefield. He frowned, seeing that Arthur had neither armor nor his tall shield. The longbow he was using was almost as tall the archer himself but was no substitute for chainmail. Arthur was ruthlessly accurate with the bow, managing to pull back and launch his arrows so quickly it was almost magical. None of his targets escaped his eagle eye, falling backwards with a scream as the missiles lodged in whatever exposed part of their bodies the archer could find. "Show off!" Lancelot muttered, sweeping his blade to eliminate his opponent.

Arthur moved closer and dropped the bow with a snort. "Excalibur!" he sang out, raising his had above his head. Suddenly the magic blade flew across the field and reunited with its master. Blade in hand, Arthur swiftly started clearing the way in front of him, slicing and dicing anything that got within arms reach.

Galias watched aghast as his friend all but danced into the midst of the fighting without his armor. He moved swiftly to place himself at Arthur's back, using his own shield to protect them both. "What happened to you?" he asked his leader, trying to keep up with the other man's rapid movements.

"Not Now!" Arthur roared, impaling another soldier. "I need to get to that edge of the field."

"Why?" Lancelot called out, moving to fight beside the younger knight.

"Because I can see Macon's hedge wizard and his general behind that row of trees and if I can get to them we can end this." Arthur grabbed the soldier in front of him by the scruff of the neck and tossed him aside.

"What's the plan?" Lancelot asked quietly.

"No plan. Just follow me."


	6. Chapter 6

Pt. 6

"Good move to put yourself between Arthur and the enemy" Baird commented.

"I was probably the only one besides Bors who was as tall as Arthur so putting myself and my shield between his back and the men trying to kill us meant most of his back would be protected." Jenkins sighed in mock annoyance. "You always were a problem."

"Not my fault the men in my family are tall" Arthur protested.

"So you saying Follow Me was your plan?" Stone asked, skeptically.

"Worked before" Arthur said with a shrug. "I wasn't too concerned about Macon's men at arms or his knights as much as I was his hedge mage. Turns out he wasn't much of a mage at all."

"That depends on who you ask" Jenkins protested.

 **On the battlefield**

The warlord's mage Turock looked back at the solder with him in a panic. "Arthur is coming! We must flee!"

The soldier, Macon's illegitimate son and one of his generals, glared at the little man. "Use your magic to stop him!"

"Are you mad? Merlin will tear us apart to protect his Master! I told Macon this was not a wise move!" The mage, covered in the powders he had used to create magic symbols protecting his master's property, started backing away fearfully.

"My father will kill you if you do not stand your ground so either way you risk death." The young soldier held out his sword in a threatening manner.

"Better to die by the sword then be ripped apart by an angry mage" the old man spat, turning and running as fast as his skinny legs could carry him.

"Bright move on his part" a sarcastic voice commented. Turning the young general found himself looking up at the tall young King.

 **Back at the House**

"Would Merlin have ripped anyone apart for you?" Ezekiel asked skeptically.

"Probably not" Arthur admitted. "But it made for a good story."

"So you won the battle" Baird said, taking a sip of her tea.

"Yeah, but it was a hard fight. The Macon's soldiers were desperate and scared of their warlord. They fought harder than they needed to rather than risk facing their leader's sadistic wrath. The battle was brutal but we finally broke through and ended that madman's reign of terror." Arthur sighed, shifting in his seat to better look at the Librarians.

"What happened to the little boy you saved?" Cassandra asked.

"His father came and fetched him back to their home. He was happy his boy hadn't drowned but concerned that my soldiers would punish him for nearly getting myself and Galias killed before the battle. I never saw the man so only know what Lancelot told me later. Probably just as well" Arthur shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "I wasn't in the best of moods after the battle."

Jenkins flinched at the memories that statement brought up. "No, you weren't."


	7. Chapter 7

Last Chapter to this story. Anyone out there want to hear more or shall I move off to something else.

Pt. 7

Galias searched the perimeter of the battle field for his friend. After the last charge he and Arthur had become separated and he'd been searching for his friend ever since. "Lancelot!" he called out. "Have you seen Arthur?"

"He's probably by the water's edge getting cleaned up. This was a bloody battle and you know how he is at the end events like this." Lancelot nudged a fallen soldier's body with his boot. "I'd leave him alone if I were you. He's not likely to be happy about your little stunt with that village boy."

"Stunt? The boy would have drowned if I hadn't…"

"And how did saving his life help anything? You're foolish actions almost cost us our leader and future king. Worse yet, you almost cost us the best friend either of us have ever known." Lancelot turned on his heel and walked away.

Galias watched him walk away, his heart sinking in his chest. He turned and ran back to the river's edge, hoping Lancelot was wrong. It didn't take long to spot the tall, lanky frame of their leader, walking back out of the shallows. "Arthur!"

Arthur looked up, pulling his shirt back over his head. "What is it Galias?" he asked, sounding tired.

"Lancelot said I'd find you here. I need to talk to you about … about what happened on the barge."

Arthur frowned. "What about the barge?"

Galias shifted awkwardly on the river bank, his hands behind his back. "I'm… I'm sorry, Arthur. I wasn't thinking when I jumped into the water. I shouldn't have done that without thinking…"

Arthur rolled his eyes and sat down to pull his boots back on. "Let me guess – Lancelot told you that you nearly cost the army its leader."

"Yes" Galias admitted, hesitantly. "But he's right. I shouldn't have just acted without thinking it through."

Arthur gritted his teeth as he rose. He reached out and grabbed the younger knight by his shirt and pulled him close, looking the man straight in the eyes. "You listen to me boy and listen well. You will NOT apologize, not to me or to Lancelot, not to any other being in this realm, for caring about the life of an innocent. Your desire to save that boy makes you more valuable to me than any of my knights, even more valuable than Lancelot and his talent with a blade. You understand me boy?"

"Yes, Arthur" Galias replied, shaken. "I'm sorry."

Arthur groaned and pushed the younger man away. "Think about what I've said, boy. It will make more sense the more blood you see spilled and the more lives you see destroyed." He walked back up the bank to the battlefield and started ordering his knights back into action, leaving the stricken younger knight seated in the wet ground behind him.

 **In the House**

"You were angry with me" Jenkins murmured, leaning his head on this hand. "Angry and something else."

"Sad" Rowen said, leaning her head on her brother's shoulder. "You were sad about him feeling he had to apologize for saving a life."

"Yes" Arthur admitted. "It was wrong to hear. I never wanted you to become as blasé abut death as I was." He held up his hands as Jenkins began to protest. "I know, I know – you were already a man when I met you. But to me you were still my little brother and I wanted to protect you as long as I could. Death in battle is one thing but letting an innocent die just because it would be inconvenient was more than I could bear for you to accept."

Jenkins smiled sadly. "You were right, of course. And that conversation stuck with me even after…"

"After you found out I wasn't Arthur Pendragon?"

"Yes, even then. It took a while but eventually I could look past that one lie and see all that you were trying to teach me. In the end, I leaned on those lessons when I went on my quest. And I've leaned on them ever since." Jenkins smiled at Rowan. "I only wish I could have met you sooner lady. It would have explained a lot about the sadness I saw in my friend."

Rowan returned his smile. "As do I, sir knight. As do I." She looked back at the librarians and motioned to the group to raise their glasses. "May I make a toast? To old friends and new one – may we always be as content in one another's presence as we are now."

The group raised their glasses to the toast, knowing there would be more stories to come.


End file.
